USA Swimming Motivational Time Standards, 2025-2028
The official B through AAAA ladder for every single age from 10 to 18, in yards, short course meters and long course meters. Pick the swimmer's age below — each page is the complete official table for that age, gender and course.
Pick the swimmer and course, then tap an age — the full official table opens directly.
Girls · Short Course Yards (SCY)
The standard format for most U.S. club and school-season meets. Choose an age to open the complete B-to-AAAA table, or explore the research to see what those times meant for future college swimmers.
Choose an age — full official table
From our research
Girls · Short Course Meters (SCM)
Short course meters are less common in the U.S. but widely used internationally. Browse the official age-specific standards and the available college-outcome analysis.
Choose an age — full official table
From our research
Ages 10-12 race short course meters too rarely for honest splits — no write-up rather than a thin one.
Girls · Long Course Meters (LCM)
Long course meters are the international and summer-championship format. Select an age for the official ladder, then use the research links for real recruiting context.
Choose an age — full official table
From our research
Boys · Short Course Yards (SCY)
The main U.S. school-year racing format. Each age page contains the full motivational ladder, while the research tracks how same-age performances translated to college levels.
Choose an age — full official table
From our research
Boys · Short Course Meters (SCM)
A compact international-course view of the B-to-AAAA standards. Open the table for any age and review the available analysis where the race sample is strong enough.
Choose an age — full official table
From our research
Ages 10-12 race short course meters too rarely for honest splits — no write-up rather than a thin one.
Boys · Long Course Meters (LCM)
The Olympic-size pool format used throughout the summer season. Find the official standard by age and compare it with evidence from swimmers who later reached college rosters.
Choose an age — full official table
From our research
How to read the ladder
Six letters, one direction: B is the entry standard, then BB, A, AA, AAA, and AAAA at the top. The times are set nationally by USA Swimming for the full 2025-2028 quad, so a AAA in Texas is the same time as a AAA in Maine. Each single age from 10 to 18 has its own table in all three courses — yards for most of the school-year season, and short course or long course meters for summer. Every page above is the official table, reformatted so you don't have to scroll a PDF.
What these standards are for
Motivational standards give a swimmer a ladder to climb that does not depend on who else showed up to the meet. Hitting the next letter is progress you can measure even in a season where the placings do not go your way. They are set nationally by USA Swimming for the four-year quad, so the same B or AAA means the same time everywhere in the country.
Comparing across courses
If your swimmer's time is in a different course than the table you are reading, convert it with our course converter first. Conventional (Hy-Tek-style) conversion factors run optimistic for age-group swimmers, especially in breaststroke, backstroke and the distance events, where they can run several seconds optimistic. Our converter uses factors calibrated on real age-group double-swims instead.
Standards reproduced from USA Swimming's published 2025-2028 tables for reference. Always confirm against the official document before entering a meet.
Page reviewed August 30, 2026 · Ivan Tsai · Swim to College